Not a Mid-Life Crisis

Me at my 40th birthday party on May 16th, 2026. A joke was just made about my being bald. I of course had to rise to my feet to give them a show. Seeing everyone in that room brought me so much happiness.

As of today, May 20th, 2026, I am 40.

In my 30s, the last thing I was thinking about was my death, or the death of anyone I grew up with. We have so much longer to go — and yet here I was faced with the ultimate grim reality that even at this age, death can come for anyone. My sister-in-law had passed from colon cancer, and she was my age.

It set in motion a series of choices I’ve made that on the surface could appear like a mid-life crisis.

I decided I wanted to get muscular, so I started lifting heavy weights and finally tracking my macros. I decided I missed going out to clubs, so I started going out more. I decided I wanted to wear crop tops and go to concert after concert. I started traveling more and more. I started showing up to more events in general. I started reaching out to people I don’t see often enough to reconnect, or at the very least show love.

Conversely, I decided anywhere I don’t want to be but felt obligated to attend, I simply do not have to go. My time is valuable.

My ultimate realization was that time is not infinite, and we always think there will be time to catch up with a loved one, go on vacation, hit up that club, or pick up that dumbbell next week or next month — and then in the blink of an eye, a year passes.

Then another.

The realization that time is finite was something I already knew, but now at 40 it hits harder and with more urgency.

Over the past weekend, I had a bit of an extravagant birthday party (by my standards, anyway). I gathered all the different groups of people in my life into one room — something that was taken away from me during my pandemic wedding.

Honestly, I wish I could have had double the space because there were so many others I wanted in that room.

Every person I had a moment to pause with, I leaned in or grabbed their shoulders, looked them dead in the eye, and said something meaningful.

Floros, while great people, are not always the best at expressing what we feel. As I age, I realize how important that is.

At 40, I understand the concept of a mid-life crisis differently. Television and movies usually position it as something negative, or as a source of comedy. But I see it from another lens.

If others turning 40 are anything like me, maybe they are lifting those weights, taking those vacations, buying the concert tickets, or reconnecting with old friends because they suddenly realize time has gone by much faster than they thought.

Maybe a mid-life crisis isn’t always a crisis at all.

Maybe sometimes it’s simply someone realizing their life is precious.

So now that I’ve arrived at 40, with my health intact and a stable job, I will continue living life to the absolute fullest and continue chasing all the things on my checklist because like you, I have one life to live.